The Sámi artist network Dáiddadállu has won the 2024 Munch Award, receiving NOK 300,000—approximately £24,000—for its contributions to artistic freedom of expression. The collective brings together an administration and 22 artist partners whose multimedia work spans theater, music, visual art, and joik, a traditional form of Sámi singing. The group’s recognition follows a high-profile exhibition by co-founder Máret Ánne Sara at the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall last autumn.
Sámi Artist Network Dáiddadállu Wins NOK 300,000 Munch Award for Artistic Freedom
Established in 2024, the Munch Awards are presented annually in honor of Norwegian modernist Edvard Munch, whose experimental paintings embody a drive for individualism and unbound freedom of expression. The award was decided by a jury that included artist and curator Wanda Nanibrush, curator and academic Yvette Mutumba, and Munch Museum director Tone Hansen.
The network was established in 2014 by choreographer and filmmaker Elle Sofe Sara and author and artist Máret Ánne Sara, who are not related. Managing director Dine Arnannguaq Fenger Lynge said in a statement that the network spent years building an infrastructure where Sámi artists can develop, collaborate, and engage with the world on their own terms. The Munch Award jury honored the network for supporting Indigenous artists and actively inserting Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into established art worlds.
Global Exposure Through the Tate Modern Turbine Hall
Co-founder Máret Ánne Sara brought the network’s profile to international attention last autumn with her Hyundai Commission at the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall. Her installation, titled Goavve-Geabbil (2025), featured a 26-meter-high column of reindeer hides bound by electrical cables alongside a wooden, maze-like structure modeled on the anatomy of a reindeer’s nose.
Born into a Sámi family of reindeer herders, Sara explained to Louisa Buck of The Art Newspaper that her work was a reaction to the increasingly volatile environmental state of the Sápmi Arctic region and her quest for sustainable future alternatives.
The ancestral land of the Sámi people, Sápmi, spans northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. According to a 2024 rapid review by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, the Sámi were subjected to a persistent assimilation policy from the mid-1800s until the late 1960s, and while that policy has been abandoned, community members still experience ethnicity-based harassment and discrimination.
Community-Led Initiatives and Cultural Preservation
Dáiddadállu’s initiatives draw heavily on Sámi knowledge, focusing on openness, sustainability, and holistic thinking. The network aims to foster fair and lasting development through its activities locally and internationally. Previous winners of the Munch Award include Brazilian artist Rosana Paulino and Palestinian artist and educator Samia Halaby.
Did you know?
Dáiddadállu members have participated in Birgejupmi Through Art & Duodji, an EU-funded research initiative exploring how art and traditional Sámi handicrafts (duodji) serve as tools for resilience, reconciliation, and knowledge sharing. Another prominent member project is Elle Sofe Sara’s ballet Láhppon/Lost (2025), choreographed with Hlín Diego Hjálmarsdóttir, which explores the Kautokeino Rebellion of 1852 against Norwegian authorities.
Common Questions About the Award and Collective
What is Dáiddadállu?
Dáiddadállu is a Sámi artist network founded in 2014 comprising an administration and 22 artist partners working across theater, music, visual art, and joik.
How much is the Munch Award worth?
The Munch Award comes with a prize of NOK 300,000, which is approximately £24,000.
Who founded the network?
The collective was founded by filmmaker and choreographer Elle Sofe Sara and artist and author Máret Ánne Sara.
What does the Munch Award recognize?
The annual award recognizes artistic freedom of expression in honor of Norwegian modernist Edvard Munch.
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